Redhawk Caldera Just a harmless prank...

His eyes were beginning to clear up. Now instead of seeing some light bits and some kinda not light bits, Titmouse could see -- well, lots of dark, because really the cave they'd moved to was a dank ass little place... But yeah, okay, he'd slept on it and after a few days, stuff had kind of cleared up. He couldn't make out who was who yet. Sometimes Tit still mistook the visiting shape of Eljay as his sister Raven, but a milk man was just as good as a milk lady, right?

Then his ears had done their thing, leaving Titmouse in a dumb stupor for a few hours at best. Both his ears were erect now. Adding to that the sliiiightly improved eyesight and his even slighter increase in balance, and he was good to roam! The boy couldn't go as far as say, the cave mouth. But this place had all sorts of new scents nearby, and cold feelings, and wet tastes, and there was a helluva lot more room so he could do all of his wriggling and rolling without pestering anyone!

Except, of course, when he chose to bee-line for the puppy pile and bowl in to his siblings, eager to get them up and rolling with him — which he did happily, with a gay little giggle screeching from his lungs instead of his usual screams!

She couldn't hear her brother's giggle, nor would she ever. It would probably be another few weeks before the adults realized something was wrong. Meanwhile, Towhee remained blissfully oblivious. She had no idea she was missing out on a fun new sensory development. Even when she grew up and learned that she lacked an entire sense, Towhee would never really miss something she'd never even had in the first place.

When Titmouse came gamboling in her direction, she happily swatted at him. Because she wasn't very coordinated yet, she lost her balance and tipped onto her left hip. Unfazed, she continued swiping her little paw at her rambunctious litter mate, a playful growl vibrating her throat even if it would never reach her useless ears. She liked all of her siblings—the adults too, for that matter—but Titmouse stood out from the others, particularly due to his pale coat and wily ways.

It never really occurred to Titmouse that his siblings were all dark-furred creatures. He wasn't aware of his own looks at this point, and overall it wouldn't have mattered, especially since they all looked like dark blobs to him right now anyways. As an adult he would likely tell each of them apart by looking for the orange on their bodies — the last remnants of a mother he'd never meet, sadface — but for now he lumped all the Small Things together.

And this Small Thing was actually giving him attention! Usually they pushed him away with their flailing paws (and to be fair, he did the same to them) or they competed over meals and squabbled over the ensuing mess after a meal (of which Titmouse remained the king) but not today. The swatting paw and eventual slip of his opponent was met with an even bigger, more obnoxious series of giggle-snorts. Titmouse dove towards Towhee in the next instant, trying to grab her paws with his mouth, and only really tripped himself up on his dumb paws and went slamming in to her tummy — turning the two of them in to a puddle of black-and-silver.

She didn't know what happened. One second, she was swatting at her brother, the next, she was sprawled on the floor and unable to catch her breath. Towhee wheezed, all four paws doing their part to kick at Titmouse's weight on her belly. She managed to shove him off herself, though the strange and deeply unpleasant tightness in her chest persisted. Her mouth opened and closed in a silent scream.

Then, abruptly, it passed. Towhee sucked in a deep, noisy breath and then slowly sat upright. Her wide blue eyes stared into the middle distance for a moment before she turned to look over her shoulder in search of Titmouse. Now her eyes narrowed. Without warning, she bounced to her feet and spun, pouncing at him. Naturally, both her balance and aim were extremely questionable.

Up until this point the babies were mostly immobile. It was a turning point for them all - the eyes opening, ears unfurling, general maturation of their bodies. They'd learn all about their own mobility in the next few weeks. This seemed like the first major lesson. Towhee had been bowled over, but she righted herself and caught her breath, and Titmouse was unprepared for her retaliation.

While her aim wasn't so great - nor her strength - she did manage to catch him by surprise, and that in turn led to Titmouse falling over. He was losing balance because of his own ineptitude rather than any influence from Towhee, but down he went all the same. He wriggled and got back up in time to awkwardly grapple for his sister with his paws, which... Didn't work out as planned. Titmouse hadn't considered his own balance when he made his own dash and grab attempt. He ended up falling flat on his chest, face-down, while his sister was unscathed.

Towhee knew a sense of satisfaction when her sibling went down like a sack of potatoes. Although she had stumbled a little bit during her attack, she'd managed to remain upright. She stood over Titmouse now, little tail pointing straight upward in one of her very first dominance displays. Her lips wrinkled back from her sharp little milk teeth and a tiny snarl vibrated in her throat. She moved forward, nipping at one of his ears in retaliation for knocking the wind out of her.

Towhee melted like butter after that, her lips falling back over her gums as she made to throw her forelegs around Titmouse's neck in a hug. She mouthed him again even as she let her weight drag both of them to the floor. As she went down on her left flank, she instinctively curled her little body and began playfully kicking her back legs at Titmouse's face.

When Teehee raised her tail, Titmouse did what came naturally and curled his limbs as close as he could get them. He was a pebble beneath her stare; but then she pounced, and the game continued. He went from a droopy silhouette to a rolling, flailing child within seconds. She settled atop him and used his lack of physical ability to her own advantage, pulling the boy off-kilter and then kicking — which was a weak attack but only because of their size and age. The bup bup bup bup of her paws against his face didn't hurt exactly, but it was repetitive and irritating. Titmouse had to squint to see what was happening (and his vision was still mostly blurred), and instinct took over. He managed to contort his face in to a scowl as he got his mouth open, and then clamped hard upon the nearest foot.

Towhee didn't mind it when she was poked, prodded or even chewed... unless it involved her feet. She had been remarkably sensitive about them from day one. She could and did use them all the time, of course, but she became a downright fussbudget if anyone else touched them. Whether or not Titmouse was aware of this, he had a tendency to go for her literal and figurative Achilles heels.

As soon as he clamped down on her paw, Towhee squawked and tried to yank it free. When it didn't come loose right away, she curled into an even tighter ball and began nipping at his snout. If he didn't let her go soon, the little warning pecks would likely escalate into full-blown bites.

Titmouse was known for two things: his bite, and his bark. As soon as his sister started fighting him for control of her own paws, he just tried harder and harder to nibble and snap at them. It was a fun game! She pushed at him and kicked and even snapped, the more and more he grabbed and chewed, until they were having a full-blown battle with tooth and claw included. The longer they played the less and less fun it seemed, and the more serious. Titmouse was and always would be stubborn; however, he didn't know that this behavior he was now cultivating could get him in serious trouble in the future. The adults weren't attentive enough to notice their little battle until Towhee landed a good hit, and even the muted Titmouse squealed a dog-whistle note of surprise.

The squabble quickly escalated when Titmouse refused to relinquish his hold on her paw and Towhee's patience grew thin. She grabbed onto her brother's muzzle, sharp little teeth digging into the soft tissue of his lips. She missed his whine, naturally, which would have been a handy auditory cue to let her know she was playing too rough. Obliviously, she kept digging her little fangs into Titmouse's muzzle until an adult finally cottoned onto them and a pinch to the nape was all the warning Towhee got before she was suddenly airborne.

She instinctively relaxed after being scruffed. She expected to be put down almost immediately—the motion had broken up the fight, after all—but instead her carrier toted her to the other side of the cave. When she was finally set down, Towhee peered upward at Raven's familiar face. Her little tail gave a few quizzical thumps and she glanced back in Titmouse's direction. She bounced to her feet, ready to get back at him, but Raven struck out a leg to bar the way.

Towhee picked a fight with her older sister's paw in lieu of Titmouse, throwing occasional shade across the cave. Eventually, however, she grew weary of the game and flopped down on the cold stone floor. An unheard sigh gusted from her and she let her eyes drift shut. Being (unknowingly) deaf had its perks: Towhee could find peace and quiet anytime, anyplace, and impromptu naps such as this one were as easy as breathing.

Once separated it was like the squabble never happened. In fact, when Towhee was lifted away, Titmouse reached out for her with his little paws and cooed (or tried to coo, it sounded more like a rockslide in a gravel pit). The boy rolled over and tried to waddle closer just as Towhee tried to escape the presence of the adult — she was stopped, and he wasn't, not at first. Someone was suddenly there to intervene though, and pulled Titmouse aside. While Towhee drifted in to a semi-sleep her brother was the opposite: he kicked and cried and fought against the adult keeping him prisoner until they couldn't hold him any longer, and he went spilling over the blockade of their limbs, trying to get back to Teehee.

She couldn't hear her sibling's cries but Towhee must have sensed Titmouse's unrest some other way because her eyes popped open a few minutes later and she lifted her head to peer sleepily around the cave. A great big yawn stole over her but she shook it off and arched her neck, effectively periscope-ing over Raven's leg. When she spotted her distressed brother, Towhee made a strangle rumbling sound in her breast that rose up in her throat, sounding something like a growling purr.

"You can only come over here if you promise to be quiet and still," Raven warned Titmouse over Towhee's head. Like the noise she was making, the pup didn't hear her older sister's words. Her tired blue eyes remained fastened on Titmouse as she wiggled her tail as if to entice him closer. When he didn't move right away, she sprawled on the ground invitingly, except this made them disappear from one another's view behind the slender black blockade.

This is old so here, have an abrupt end.

He saw the wiggle of her little tail and launched himself after it — except as he did that, Titmouse lost his balance and tumbled head-over-feet, and smucked his little face against the ground. After a brief moment of stunned dubbleyew-tee-eff-ing at the soil beneath himself, he seemed to totally forget what he had been aiming for, and jolted in another direction. He'd end up bowling in to another sibling and being lost to the puppy pile, leaving Towhee and Raven to chillax.